Public Act 095-0356
 
HB1542 Enrolled LRB095 07174 HLH 27305 b

    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Municipal Code is amended by
changing Section 10-2.1-17 as follows:
 
    (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-17)  (from Ch. 24, par. 10-2.1-17)
    Sec. 10-2.1-17. Removal or discharge; investigation of
charges; retirement. Except as hereinafter provided, no
officer or member of the fire or police department of any
municipality subject to this Division 2.1 shall be removed or
discharged except for cause, upon written charges, and after an
opportunity to be heard in his own defense. The hearing shall
be as hereinafter provided, unless the employer and the labor
organization representing the person have negotiated an
alternative or supplemental form of due process based upon
impartial arbitration as a term of a collective bargaining
agreement. Such In non-home rule units of government, such
bargaining shall be permissive rather than mandatory unless the
parties mutually agree otherwise. Any such alternative
agreement shall be permissive. such contract term was
negotiated by the employer and the labor organization prior to
or at the time of the effective date of this amendatory Act, in
which case such bargaining shall be considered mandatory.
    If the chief of the fire department or the chief of the
police department or both of them are appointed in the manner
provided by ordinance, they may be removed or discharged by the
appointing authority. In such case the appointing authority
shall file with the corporate authorities the reasons for such
removal or discharge, which removal or discharge shall not
become effective unless confirmed by a majority vote of the
corporate authorities. The board of fire and police
commissioners shall conduct a fair and impartial hearing of the
charges, to be commenced within 30 days of the filing thereof,
which hearing may be continued from time to time. In case an
officer or member is found guilty, the board may discharge him,
or may suspend him not exceeding 30 days without pay. The board
may suspend any officer or member pending the hearing with or
without pay, but not to exceed 30 days. If the Board of Fire
and Police Commissioners determines that the charges are not
sustained, the officer or member shall be reimbursed for all
wages withheld, if any. In the conduct of this hearing, each
member of the board shall have power to administer oaths and
affirmations, and the board shall have power to secure by its
subpoena both the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the
production of books and papers relevant to the hearing.
    The age for retirement of policemen or firemen in the
service of any municipality which adopts this Division 2.1 is
65 years, unless the Council or Board of Trustees shall by
ordinance provide for an earlier retirement age of not less
than 60 years.
    The provisions of the Administrative Review Law, and all
amendments and modifications thereof, and the rules adopted
pursuant thereto, shall apply to and govern all proceedings for
the judicial review of final administrative decisions of the
board of fire and police commissioners hereunder. The term
"administrative decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
    Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the
chief of the fire department or the chief of the police
department from suspending without pay a member of his
department for a period of not more than 5 calendar days, but
he shall notify the board in writing of such suspension. The
hearing shall be as hereinafter provided, unless the employer
and the labor organization representing the person have
negotiated an alternative or supplemental form of due process
based upon impartial arbitration as a term of a collective
bargaining agreement. Such In non-home rule units of
government, such bargaining shall be permissive rather than
mandatory unless the parties mutually agree otherwise. Any such
alternative agreement shall be permissive. such contract term
was negotiated by the employer and the labor organization prior
to or at the time of the effective date of this amendatory Act,
in which case such bargaining shall be considered mandatory.
    Any policeman or fireman so suspended may appeal to the
board of fire and police commissioners for a review of the
suspension within 5 calendar days after such suspension, and
upon such appeal, the board may sustain the action of the chief
of the department, may reverse it with instructions that the
man receive his pay for the period involved, or may suspend the
officer for an additional period of not more than 30 days or
discharge him, depending upon the facts presented.
(Source: P.A. 91-650, eff. 11-30-99.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.